José Lozano is a fun guy who likes to laugh and tell stories, and he carries this wonderful trait into his work as an artist and as a writer and illustrator of children’s book. Born in 1959 in Los Angeles, his mother soon moved the family to her birthplace of Juárez, México. On the border, he found many of the cultural touchstones that continue to influence his work today as an artist and as a children’s book writer—bad Mexican cinema, fotonovelas, ghost stories, comic books, and musical genres such as bolero and ranchera. The family returned to Southern California in 1967 where he attended Belvedere Elementary School in East Los Angeles. There his teachers encouraged him to draw and paint. He began creating revealing (yet not always flattering) works about his neighborhood and its residents—demonstration parties, quinceañeras, weddings, and baby showers. His classmates loved his art, mainly because they all seemed to tell a story.

José is considered a principal in the vibrant Los Angeles Latino arts scene. His art has been featured in numerous prestigious exhibits in Southern California; his public installation “La Metro Lotería” entertains passengers at the La Brea Metro stop in Los Angeles; and Cheech Martin collects his work for his important Chicano Art Collection. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees from California State University at Fullerton. He lives in Anaheim, CA.